


Symphonic

by Hey_Maverick



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Kuroo has thalassophobia, M/M, sailor kuroo, siren yaku
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 05:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26939995
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hey_Maverick/pseuds/Hey_Maverick
Summary: Kuroo Tetsurou was a sailor.A sailor who by all means should not be one.One that plummets into the abysmal sea, rescued by the embodiment of evil.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Yaku Morisuke
Kudos: 17





	1. Outline Of A Beast

**Author's Note:**

> Siren Yaku is based on an ACTUAL siren, not just mermaids. So he has the wings, weird body, everything.

Kuroo Tetsurou was a sailor. 

A sailor who by all means should not be one. A sailor whose life would normally cast him away from the sea rather than draw him nearer. Yet, the water is like a symphony he needs to listen to completion. Those crashing waves, the roar of thunder, the beautiful songs that echo through the dead of night from the jagged rocks. Kuroo was almost consumed by the monstrous waves, dark blue abyss wrapping around his ankles and pulling him down, creatures that lurk below swimming towards him to discover what foreigner had entered their home.

Kuroo Tetsurou was a sailor who was saved from a watery demise by one of the very creatures his home taught him to fear. He doesn’t see it then, the golden tail that swishes in the darkness, nor the golden locks that float as if suspended in space, beyond a world of time. That creature lives on in his dreams, a smile made of sharp teeth, mostly something of his imagination. A glimpse was all he needed to set off his journey back into the world he feared, body falling against the water to see if anything would approach. 

He took to the books his town provided, searching for some form of answer for the thing he barely witnessed. Those eyes that reflected the beams piercing the water, bubbly laughter that engulfed him, haunting him every night. All the creatures in those picture books did not compare to it, whatever it was, no, they were monsterizing an innocent creature. 

Kuroo Tetsurou was a sailor, and he had found his new goal: meeting his savior. 

He realizes this mission will be difficult for a multitude of reasons, the most prominent one being that he was a sailor that feared the sea. After his close call, his animosity with the lifelike expanse of water only grew, becoming a sailor bound to his ship, hidden where his eyes could not find the abyss. His crewmates would scoff at him, criticize him for continuing his career even with his new sense of anxiety. He paid no mind to them, staying beside perhaps the two people who would understand his reasons. Well—Kai and Kenma were both unaware of why he searched the sea, but that he was attempting to re-discover something is a fact they’ve both chosen to accept. Who were they to question his fight against the thing he is most terrified of? 

They only begin to grow concerned as Kuroo’s ideas begin to develop into something more radical, sending the ship in the wrong path in order to stray into dangerous waters, trying to see if he could repeat the circumstances of his last disaster. Insane, that’s what he was, he’s completely lost it. No sane man stands at the edge of the ship, hands gripping onto the railing and leaning over, eyes gazing over the foggy landscape, refusing to hide when the songs began to consume them. He found ways to fight them off, wax shoved into his ears, and raincoats to protect him from the splashing water, ropes making sure he didn’t fall victim to the creatures’ aggressions. Perhaps this is why everyone saw them as menaces, feeding upon the humans and sending them to their early graves, songs so intoxicating, and laughter addictive. Kuroo believed you couldn’t blame them for what they did, after all, it’s not like they had much of a choice. 

Would sending the town scums here be such a terrible proposition? Get rid of two problems in one go? 

His impatience only grows as the days fly by, eventually turning into months that morphs into a year. By then, he’s slowly commencing to give up, his fear finally consuming him fully, sending him away from the water. Oh, beautiful thing he once loved, what turned you into this monster? One did one minuscule event decide the rest of his life? Why does everyone question his memory of a gracious devil pushing him into safety? Maybe he was truly going insane. Every figment of his imagination had clouded his sense of reality the day he slipped off that ship’s deck, plummeting into a potential grave. 

But—Kuroo Tetsurou was a sailor whose life was full of surprises. 

In an act that could only be described as desperation, Kuroo finds himself standing on the docks in the dead of the night staring off into the nothingness, mind wandering with the thoughts that somewhere, out in that world he cannot understand, there is a creature that defied its moral codes, releasing Kuroo rather than taking the advantage when it had the chance. Kuroo thinks that this defiance is what keeps dragging him to the edge of the sea, heart racing with terror as his breathing grows labored. He’s torturing himself for what? The idea of something that maybe doesn’t exist? Something his mind created to replace a traumatic memory? 

A laugh erupts from the fog, Kuroo thinking that the crashing waves are playing a trick on his mind. When he hears it again, he’s taking his stand on the edge of the wooden docks, squinting in an attempt to see what was the cause of the strange sound. Was it dangerous to beckon an unknown entity towards him? Of course, but this was Kuroo, life teetering on the edge of danger at every point in time. 

“Show yourself!” he screams out into the empty sea, panicking as he attempts to find anything. 

“Now, that’s no fun is it?” Comes a reply Kuroo was not expecting which leads him down two trains of thought: either he had finally snapped, or there was something out there chatting with him, sing song tone sounding like mockery. 

“Who are you?” Kuroo shoots back. 

The response he receives is utter silence followed by some sound he can't identify, something akin to a bird flapping its wings to escape. 

But that’s crazy, right? 

Is he crazy?

Were they going to lock him up? 

“My identity,” the creature drawls out, Kuroo still trying to discover what direction the voice was coming from. “Is not important. At least, not to your system” 

“My system?” 

The creature scoffs before Kuroo is finally able to catch a glimpse of the shadow sitting upon the rocks of a nearby structure. The outline isn’t clear, and the shadows were definitely playing a trick on him. What type of person sits out on the rocks like that? 

“So the stereotype is true, you sailors all have zero smarts even when combined” It laughs yet again, those things that vaguely look like wings stretching out. 

“What do you mean by system?” 

“Sailors never cease to fascinate me,” it continues, failing to answer Kuroo’s question. “Even with a deep rancor for the sea, you show up at the dock at the same time, never a minute early or late. Normally, I would be concerned, but I don’t listen to your human rules,” 

It’s then Kuroo realizes the nature of the situation, speaking to nothing that just claimed to not follow human rules. So, his options ranged from assuming this thing is an outcast or something else entirely. He knew what was the greater probability, but he elected to ignore it. 

“Do you have a reason to stand there?”

“It ain’t your business” Kuroo shoots back, a way to get back at the thing for its earlier sass. 

“You’re right, it isn’t,” It shrugs. “Yet you fail to apply that logic when it comes to us. Stuck up bastards.” 

Silence befalls them again, and by the time Kuroo snaps out of his trance, the warm sun is creeping out of the horizon, harsh heat enough to burn. When he calls out to ask the creature if it would come tomorrow, he earns no response, only the splash of cold water against his face. That’s what he gets for leaning so close to the tide. 

  
  


\----------------

Kuroo returns to the dock the next day, not caring that the rain was pattering down against him, anxiety gripping the very corner of his mind as he waits to see if his new acquaintance would show up. It doesn’t, and it doesn’t for a good two months before returning to its post, laughing at Kuroo’s eagerness. His insistence is what caused them to meet again, something that would become a habit for both parties, the creature drawing nearer with every new conversation. It too was growing intrigued, it too wanted to get to have a normal conversation. 

Their banter never explores heavy topics, dancing around every painful memory like a graceful ballerina, body mass leaned up against the smallest surfaces. However, Kuroo’s solo had turned into a waltz, a messy one where both stepped on each other’s feet and messed up, but all’s good in their game, Kuroo earns the right to call it a “friend”. He has yet to fully see its face, hell, his imagination has been running wild, attempting to match the sickly sweet voice to a face. The image of the thing isn’t correct, not that Kuroo knows that, but it plays along into the shenanigans, trickster nature poking out from every crevice. 

It’s on a hot afternoon, Kuroo laying with his bareback to the rotting wood of the dock, eyes facing the cloudless skies that the question comes. 

“I never got your name.” 

To Kuroo, this question was not unordinary, nothing about it seemed out of place which leads to his confusion when it fails to respond to the question, only a small sound of disappointment escaping its mouth. With the careful splash of water, it has made its way under the dock, hidden by the shadows that cast down in the cold water, seeking to get closer to Kuroo. Nobody needed to know the truth behind his nature, much less other sailors who would hunt it for sport. 

“I don’t have one” it had admitted after a few beats. 

“You-” 

“Yeah, I don’t have one. We don’t have names where I’m from, that’s just the animal kingdom for you.”

Kuroo purses his lips, head lolling to the side to watch the creature’s hand gently ripple the water, only to turn away. If it didn’t want to be seen, who was Kuroo to force it? 

“Would you be opposed to me giving you one?” Kuroo questions, eyes shutting, ears focused on the soft rolls of the waves in the distance with the chitter-chatter of the port city. “I know you don’t like human things but, I feel better referring to you by name than just ‘port person’.”

“And if I don’t like it?” 

“You can reject it, of course. Maybe I’ll ask in town for some names. Any preference?” 

“No” it replies, gripping onto one of the columns that hold the port up, eyes gazing up at the sailor. This was strange to it, befriending a sailor. There is no doubt its school would be disappointed in its actions. 

“What about… Morisuke?” 

“Morisuke?” It repeats as if testing the waters. 

“Yeah, Morisuke, or Mori. I just think it fits your voice.” 

Once more it repeats the name, attempting to copy the very accent Kuroo had used with his version before the water is splashing again and Kuroo watches his companion vanish among the sea again. A smile crept onto his face as he sat up, messy black hair falling over his eyes. 

_ Hell yeah, first try baby.  _


	2. Men of the Sea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a short chapter so uh...yuh

Morisuke all but vanishes from “his” dock, Kuroo feels guilty for never wondering about his friend’s wellbeing. How could he? His town had fallen into chaos with the arrival of a new face, someone Kuroo feels like he knows, but his name escapes him every time. A silky voice and a rough act all a memory he cannot quite rediscover. Normally, who walks with his air of confidence never lasts long in the town, silenced by the other men, yet, this character has managed to survive, build a certain reputation around a placeholder name of “nymph” for his constant praise of the sea, something that is beginning to grow on Kuroo and enraging him. He doesn't understand how someone could speak so fondly of the sea, especially to his own face saying Kuroo needed to get over his fears. 

Still, his arrival wasn’t what set off the scramble of fear, rather, it was the reveal of his true name. When asked by the town leader to be truthful, Nymph spits out that he’s a “Yaku”, a name the citizens have come to fear. A dangerous family, they had been the ones to pave the way for the civilizations, born and bred warriors who got up no matter what. Problem is, their youngest, a certain Yaku  _ Morisuke  _ had died years before taking with him the family legacy. This Yaku has no explanation for his name and doesn’t seem to understand their sudden fear and praise of him. It’s no matter to Kuroo though, the assumed amnesiac has become his greatest interest, Morisuke fading into the back like excessive white noise, forgotten like a single grain of sand in a massive desert. 

Kuroo pesters the newcomer day and night, offering to show him the ship, offering to show him around the town, begging to hear his first name, all of which the man denies. He sticks his nose up as if disgusted, perhaps judging, before walking off to do his own thing. Kai and Kenma think Kuroo’s insane for attempting to befriend the very man that could destroy their town in the swipe of a hand, but Kuroo has learned of one thing in his life: he likes playing with fate. His dance with uncertainty reminded him of the waltz he shared with Morisuke, a gamble that turned fruitful in the end. 

But just like a whisper, Yaku fades away, disappearing from the life in the village, everyone releasing a breath they never knew they had been holding. This all because of one man, a small little blond man with freckles who most likely was just all bark, no bite. Everyone avoids speaking of the legend that graced their presence and Kuroo is left wondering if he had yet imagined a situation, eventually returning to the thing he had left behind. His broken routine, the one thing he was most certain about yet that no one would believe: Morisuke. 

The creature is there then, soft sounds akin to whimpers flooding into the air. Even then it’s sounds are deadly, Kuroo feels the guilt settling deep on him, eating him from the inside. Had he been the one to cause this anguish? He calls out, the sounds stop for a moment as Kuroo stares at the outline on the rock, humanoid hands reaching up to caress its own face. Kuroo watches as the outline vanishes, the water’s ripple alerting him that the creature intended on hiding under the dock yet again, their intimacy still close enough despite Kuroo’s ignoring of him. 

An awkward silence consumes them, Morisuke’s sniffles being the only thing that keeps Kuroo chained to his current reality. He brought this upon himself, he would possibly lose his friend. 

“Why did you pick Morisuke?” The creature asks, trying to find some middle ground. 

“Well,” Kuroo sighs, holding back on looking at the beast. “The last legend in my town was named Morisuke and you just- kinda reminded me of him? Like, people would write books about you I think. You’re a hero firstly, went against all your instincts for god knows what and you’re giving it your all to understand a culture that isn’t yours” 

“Morisuke was a lot like that,” he continues. “He just liked breaking the standards” 

“Oh… okay” 

“I can change it if you want, find something el-”

“It’s fine. I just wanted to know” He cuts Kuroo off. 

So, their usual banter slowly begins to pick up, Kuroo accidentally spilling out the reason for his absence, something Morisuke says he doesn’t care for considering he wasn’t in town either. Within Morisuke, Kuroo lets reside the fcat he had grown interested in the amnesiac war hero, or at least, what they all thought was the amnesiac, despite the fact the man would have to be a lot older. He certainly would not have the stance of a young god, every movement revealing the strain of a muscle. But then again, magic rules over this world, Kuroo wouldn’t be surprised if the man discovered some way to gain back his youth. 

It becomes their new normal then, Morisuke comments on what he thinks Kuroo should do if the man returns, his view from the outside world advertised as the best way to help Kuroo. It surprisingly works. Morisuke fades into the distance again as Yaku makes his return, the collective fear sending everyone bolting into their houses leaving Kuroo, and tired companions Kai and Kenma, to interact with him, a tightly knit group slowly beginning to form. Yaku seems to struggle with normal human tasks, something Kuroo attributes to the potential amnesia, but it’s still charming nonetheless. It’s in silence he worships Yaku, their seclusion from the rest of the group giving Kuroo the freedom to act whichever way he wished. 

It takes time to break the rough exterior that covers Yaku, but with gentle touches and words slicked with sweetness, the shell begins to shatter, a softer version of the overly aggressive man taking the stage. In a lot of ways, this version of Yaku reminded him of Morisuke and Kuroo vaguely wonders if Morisuke is giving Kuroo advice on how to woo him, not Yaku, because of their similarities. Kuroo eventually lets those thoughts slip away, dots failing to connect as his mind is overwhelmed with the idea of Yaku. He does such good work at creating a docile version of the warrior that people begin to roam freely again, no more terror ruling their lives. The distance was still kept, but that was to be expected. 

From a scoundrel and bastard, Kuroo had turned into the very thing that could potentially save this town from getting squished under a boot. 

  
  


When Kuroo starts thinking he’s finally made progress, Yaku vanishes yet again, the only thing left behind to remind Kuroo of his phantom being the kiss that still lingers on his cheek and the elated feeling he experienced right after. 

Kuroo Tetsurou was a sailor who realized he had a problem. 

Well, many problems. 

For starters, he loved a man he is still trying to comprehend. A man who gets up and leaves in the middle of the night without a warning, vanishing like the myth he was. Then there was Morisuke, who either loved Kuroo, or wanted his friend to prosper in his relationship. Kuroo never understood how Morisuke had become so good at playing a game he does not know, the sing-song tone always making Kuroo stop in his tracks. 

It’s that very mellow tune that incriminates Yaku upon his return. That song has become too familiar to Kuroo for him to ignore, his finger shoved into the smaller man’s chest when he steps out of the bathroom. 

Kuroo’s first conclusion is far from the truth and honestly, it gets Yaku to laugh, a burst of hearty laughter he also seems to remember. Kuroo accuses Yaku of having met the sirens of the sea or perhaps even fallen victim to them. Yaku scoffs then follows it with laughter, replying sarcastically that he was a sailor that fell overboard. 

“So- you’re like me?” Kuroo had furrowed his eyebrows. It doesn’t make sense that Yaku wouldn’t be afraid of the sea. 

“Far from it” 

Yaku was right then, Kuroo is slowly beginning to take note of all their differences, not only physically but subjectively as well. Both see the world in a different light. In a lot of ways, they form two sides of the scale. Yaku wears his heart on his sleeve, screaming and constant anger scary to those that don’t understand him. Kuroo’s heart is trapped beneath layers of concrete in order to avoid exploding. But the beast that lurks at Yaku’s surface does not compare to the one Kuroo keeps locked up. Years of hiding what he truly felt would come out someday, Yaku had warned him of such, but Kuroo is stubborn and fails to listen. Why would he listen to a man who constantly vanishes? Someone who can be fake? 

Yet, even with all the things that would usually mean to a couple breaking up, their differences only make the bonds tighter. Each time the string shortened meant another lost minute with Morisuke who had all but vanished into the night when Kuroo spoke of his plans regarding Yaku. Finding out his first name, convincing him to finally label their relationship, and then in the near future, convince the man there is no other person he would rather sail with. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> same deal lovelies! 
> 
> @hey_maverick_ on twt :DDD

**Author's Note:**

> AHH! Thank you for reading this to completion, it makes me really happy! As always, my comments are open to both constructive criticism and just-- screaming ig. 
> 
> you can find me on twitter under the handle of @Hey_Maverick_!


End file.
